We've all used that word - "whatchamacallit" - a few thousand times. A useful term for whatever you can't remember the real name of. That's why it's also an appropriate title for a book called The Whatchamacallit. Authors Danny Danziger and Mark McCrum have pulled together a hundred or so interesting or quirky terms, with explanations and (sometimes) an exploration of related terms.
Everybody, depending on the particular experiences of their lives, will find some words here that they know. "Kerf" wasn't a problem for me, for example, because I've done some carpentry in my day; or "kanji," since I know a foreign language or two and am an amateur linguist. On the other hand, "grawlix" was new; and how about "F-hole?" -- gee, most of us never develop our vocabularies beyond "A-hole." (Before we get more off-color on this, let me tell you that F-hole is part of a violin.)
So here's an attractive little book, not something you couldn't live without, but an interesting, individualistic tour through a few of the back alleys of the English language. About the only drawback I see is that British usage isn't always distinguished from American, so, for example, "bonnet" appears without any mention of its U.S. equivalent "hood" (i.e. of a car).
The book can still be had on amazon.com (click the icon in the right margin) or elsewhere, but if you're a Kindle fan as I am, sorry, it's evidently too old to be available in a Kindle edition. Another interesting book in this vein, by the way, is Origins of the Specious, by Elizabeth O'Conner; this one is more about the usage of certain words and phrases, than just the words themselves. I haven't read this one yet but I'm eager to; it's had excellent reviews, including in the New York Times and Washington Post.
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